Contact lenses have been used commercially to improve vision since the 1950s. The first contact lenses were made of hard materials. Although these lenses are currently used, they are not suitable for all patients due to their poor initial comfort. Later developments in the field gave rise to soft contact lenses, based upon hydrogels, which are extremely popular today. These lenses have higher oxygen permeabilities and such are often more comfortable to wear than contact lenses made of hard materials. However, these new lenses are not without problems.
Contact lenses with high oxygen permeabilites are typically made of hydrophobic materials. The packaging for contact lenses are also made of hydrophobic materials. When one hydrophobic surface comes in contact with another, the surfaces stick to each other. The sticking of a contact lens to its packaging creates many problems. First the packaging is thicker and more rigid than the soft lenses contained therein. If a lens sticks to the packaging, when the user tries to remove the lens, the lens often tears and must be discarded. One solution to this problem is to place a hydrophilic additive such as a surfactant, into the lens packaging solution. However many surfactants that have been used to solve this problem do not prevent the sticking of contact lenses to their packaging. In addition, some surfactants do not completely dissolve in lens packaging solutions and have unfavorable interactions with the lens when they are stored over a period of time, Therefore there is a need for methods of inhibiting the adherence of contact lenses to their packaging. It is this need that is met by the following invention.